Least Competitive Medical Schools

The Least Competitive Medical Schools

What are the least competitive medical schools in the country? This is a question we at MedSchoolCoach get all the time. Let’s take it one step at a time. First, there is no really uncompetitive US MD medical school. Getting into any US medical school is a huge accomplishment. Even the “worst” schools have acceptance rates under 20%. So to peg a school as noncompetitive is incorrect. Now, there are some schools that have lower average GPAs and MCAT scores than others obviously, and this is typically what applicants refer to as the least competitive medical schools. Unfortunately, this does not really hold true. There are a lot of schools that applicants apply to with an average GPA and MCAT lower than theirs, but never get interviews at. There are many reasons for this. Remember, these schools are getting thousands of applications. In fact, the schools that are traditionally viewed as the “least competitive” or “safety schools” tend to get way more applications than a Harvard or Stanford. George Washington University for example (a great school anyway you slice it), gets over 10,000 applications. Same with Drexel Medical. The reason these schools get so many applications is that they publish lower MCAT and GPA scores, so applicants get excited and apply both as safety schools (for this with great stats) and as target schools (for those with lower stats). So with these schools getting thousands upon thousands of applications, they end up actually having a lower acceptance rate and are actually quite competitive.

One important factor to remember is that just because your average GPA and MCAT is right on target for a given medical school, that does not mean you will get in, or even be competitive. If a school publishes their average MCAT as a 29, and average GPA as a 3.7, realize that they are rejecting far more candidates with those numbers than they are accepting. There may be over 4000 candidates with a 29 or above applying to their school, but they are only accepting a tiny fraction of those. So just because your average MCAT and GPA is aligned with a particular medical school you cannot be assured of getting in.

Also, keep in mind that those medical schools with lower GPA and MCAT requirements are often state schools with heavy state preferences for their applicants.

The question remains though, which are the least competitive medical schools? We like to rephrase that question and say which are the medical schools with the lowest average MCAT and GPA. Keep in mind, all these schools are still great, but here is a small list of private medical schools (see the note above about state schools) which applicants with lower GPAs and MCATs should consider applying to:

Drexel University College of Medical

The Commonwealth Medical College

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS)

Loyola University

George Washington University

Temple University

Howard University

Rush Medical

Albany Medical College

Hofstra University

New York Medical College

There are more, but this is a basic list. Please keep in mind, each of these schools is exceptional and you will become a great doctor from any of them. Also remember that just because they look at applicants with lower GPAs and MCATs than other medical schools in the country, they are no less competitive.

Are You a Borderline Candidate Looking for an Edge? If you are a borderline candidate with a low GPA or MCAT score and are trying to gain every edge possible in the admissions process, our Complete Packages may be for you.

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